Geraldton Universities Centre wins National Community Centric Award for strong community focus

Geraldton Universities Centre has won a national award recognising its strong ties to regional communities and putting the needs of locals above all.

GUC was honoured at the Australian Rural Education Awards night held on October 13 in South Australia.

It won the Community Centric Award, recognised for the regional opportunities held at the heart of its operation. GUC chair Jody Beven and director Natalie Nelmes attended the Regional, Rural and Remote Education conference.

Mr Beven said the GUC was born out of community lobbying in the early 2000s and was committed to meeting the local communities needs.

“GUC has produced 470 graduates to supply a professional workforce for Geraldton’s schools, hospitals, community agencies and businesses,” he said.

“Importantly, 6 per cent of graduates have been Aboriginal students, providing inspiration and role models for future Indigenous students to follow.”

Ms Nelmes spoke about the link between online and internal university student learning GUC had created.

“The cornerstone of the GUC model is the face-to-face, unit specific academic support provided to cohorts of local students enrolled in partner universities’ online courses,” she said.

GUC actively helps more than 25 regional university centres throughout Australia.